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  • Cruel Acts

  • Maeve Kerrigan, Book 8
  • By: Jane Casey
  • Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
  • Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (327 ratings)

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Cruel Acts cover art

Cruel Acts

By: Jane Casey
Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
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Summary

The Sunday Times best seller and winner of the Irish Independent crime fiction book of the year! 

Guilty? 

A year ago, Leo Stone was convicted of murdering two women and sentenced to life in prison. Now he’s been freed on a technicality, and he’s protesting his innocence. 

Not guilty?

DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are determined to put Stone back behind bars where he belongs, but the more Maeve digs, the less convinced she is that he did it. The wrong decision could be deadly...then another woman disappears in similar circumstances. Is there a copycat killer, or have they been wrong about Stone from the start? 

©2019 Jane Casey (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"Cruel Acts is magnificent. I've loved all Jane Casey's books but this is definitely her best one. I could not stop reading it! Utter brilliance." (Marian Keyes)

"You'll be checking the locks and looking over your shoulder after reading this one: Cruel Acts is clever, classy crime fiction with a conscience. I couldn't put it down." (Erin Kelly, best-selling author of He Said/She Said)

"Jane Casey's brilliant storytelling pulled me straight into Maeve Kerrigan's world, leaving me breathless and wanting more. Brava!" (Fiona Barton, best-selling author of The Widow

What listeners say about Cruel Acts

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Great as always

A brilliant crime novel narrated really well. This is book 8 in a series, but can be listened to as a stand-alone.

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4 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Terrible

I couldn’t make out who was meant to be saying what. The dialogue was very confusing and no differentiation between characters voices made it hard to follow. Switched quickly between scenes without any explanations of where you were and who was speaking. Got fed up wondering what was going on and returned book.

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3 people found this helpful

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Brilliant

This is the eighth book in this superior police procedural series. Jane Casey, as always delivers a well written, complex, twisty-turny tale. I say this every time I review a book in this series, but I love Maeve, and her relationship with her partner, Josh Derwent.

The narration by Caroline Lennon is brilliant and brings Maeve and the story alive.

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2 people found this helpful

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Top class !

Jane Casey is absolutely the best crime writer for me so far. Don’t want the Kerrigan series to end. The plots and schemes and the sarcasm and and jokes are all amazing unexpected and nail biting, from the personal sagas to the actual criminals. The narrator is top class I can’t put the book down and can’t wait to start the next one when I finish Thank you Jane Casey 👍

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1 person found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Unbelievable and even the narrator sounds bored

This series started off as a fairly authentic police procedural. Now it has drifted into fantastically coincidental story lines and lost any sense of reality. The characters have tuned into caricatures. Even the narrator sounds like she is having teeth pulled.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Another great book in the series

I didn’t like this one quite as much as the others in the series, but it is still a great listen/read. As always with Jane Casey. The characters are richly drawn and the story beautifully written. Caroline Lennon’s narration is, as always, faultless.

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Me like very much!

I liked the look of the book and me listened to nice lady v good

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Good

The same good stuff.Everything in order . Carry on us good listening. The first place

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant Plot!

I'd been hooked from the start, always looking for an opportunity to listen to more of the story. Maeve and Derwent are two different characters, but the author throws them together which creates a personal interest. it also keeps the reader/ listener in suspence trying to solve the crime and hoping they both survive! I'm about to download the next in the series! 😍

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A new find

I bought this book on a 2for 1 offer and so pleased I did. Jane Casey is a new author for me and I look forward to reading the earlier books.
The plot was gripping although quite grim and I just worked out the ending 5 minutes before it was revealed.
The main character is admirable, and the relationship between her and her boss is tense wanting you to explore further.
Excellent narration, highly recommended.

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  • BusyBee
  • 30-12-19

Not as gripping with this narrator

I enjoyed the over all writing/plot/story - however, without the narration of Sara Coombs (who has read all of the other in the series) I was not as engaged as I have been with the prior books. If there is a next book with Lennon as the narrator, I may not bother with it.

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14 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • J-9
  • 16-12-19

Bring back Sarah Coomes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Caroline Lennon isn't a bad narrator, she just isn't Maeve and Derwent. Sometimes, it's difficult to tell who is speaking with Caroline's reading. She needs to better differentiate the voices. It's really unfortunate when the narrator is changed mid-series unless the narrator needed to be changed. Sarah Coomes did a great job with Maeve and Derwent and all of the other characters. I feel like I know them and to have different voices makes it very hard to enjoy the book as I would have with Sarah reading the book.

Anyway - it was a good book. I like that the characters continue to develop. We need to hear more about Derwent's relationship with Melissa. It was barely mentioned. I was surprised to see Godly so involved again. The author never explained his true role.

I cannot wait for the next book in the series - but please bring back Sarah Coomes.

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12 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Leila Rae Bush
  • 28-12-19

I NEED Sarah Coomes back!!!

I absolutely love Jane Casey, and Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent are two of my favorite characters. I was in shock when I first downloaded this book and started to listen that Sarah Coomes had been replaced. I waited a few days, and decided to listen again to give Caroline Lennon a fair shot. I have to say my second listen, now that I was less frustrated, was a bit better, but still not great. Sarah Coomes brought Kerrigan to life, and to change narrators after 7 books is just terrible for us as listeners.

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11 people found this helpful

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  • Lizzie
  • 03-12-19

Not as good as previous books..

I have read and enjoyed the previous Maeve Carrigan stories, but this one had a lot less twists and turns and very little personal life details which I have liked about previous books. I also felt this reader sounded much older than Maeve is supposed to be.

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6 people found this helpful

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  • Tabbi
  • 16-06-20

Terrible Narration!

I’ve loved the series but this narrator is horrible! I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as the others, most likely due to the narration.

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  • Anonymous User
  • 03-02-20

Where is Sarah Coomes?!!!!

I love this series but why would you change the narrator? I am so disappointed!!! You can’t change the voices of the characters on the 8th book! Please have Sarah Coomes come back and redo this book and any future books.

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  • Tom
  • 06-01-21

last one I listen to

Sarah Coomes, who has narrated the 7 books preceding this one, was a wonderful narrator and came to embody Maeve Kerrigan for me. The narrator for this book is not bad, but (1) she isn't the Maeve I know and (2) I don't think her tone depicts the character. I don't know her age, but her voice, to me, is of someone a good deal older than Maeve.

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4 people found this helpful

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  • Melinda Peeples
  • 10-05-20

horrible narrator

Worse narrator ever. Can’t even tell who the characters are. Narrator for previous was so much better. probably will return and buy ebook and read it myself because i love the series.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Wendy Ruth
  • 10-12-19

Where is Sarah Coomes?

Where is Sarah Coomes? I’m sure Jane Casey has written another great addition to the series, but this replacement narrator on book 8, is not Maeve. What a disappointment. Caroline Lennon may be a great narrator for other series/books but not for this one.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • amazon woman
  • 14-03-20

Great except for narration.

Not sure what happened but the usual narrator for the Maeve Kerrigan series changed in this book, and not for the better. Not only did she have a different voice but the accent seemed off as well. It made listening to the story much harder.

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3 people found this helpful